Sunday 5 June: Let’s have a sit down (and maybe a picnic) in a local park or on a bench, and watch the world go by.

It was my turn to be filmed doing my task so sitting in the Botanic Gardens watching the world go by was less relaxing than it might have been (and the world picked up its goalposts and left more or less as I arrived). I shall miss my daily texts though!

Decided to go to Chavasse Park – bound to be quiet on a Sunday. Bad idea. It was family fun week and it was noisy and full of people, not what I was looking for at all. Looked for somewhere else to go and it started raining.

Got to work half hour early so decided to sit on a wall not to far from were i work and watch the world go by in the lovely sunshine.i found it really peaceful even though it was by a busy road but just sitting there alone with a gentle breeze was just what i needed to blow away the cobwebs xxx

As a participant of the Coincidence Project, I’ve spent every day of the last two weeks going out and among other things, actively soliciting conversations with strangers, speaking foreign languages, eating odd foods and sneaking around the neighbourhood to do some guerrilla gardening or pavement chalking with my housemate. So today’s task was something of a relief – thank you Laurence, you read my mind, a time-out was needed! Not because any of the tasks given have been hard work, but because it’s been something of a whirlwind and a pause was needed to catch my breath.

There are several places in Peterborough nice enough to go to for a picnic and I probably would have done just that if I’d had space in my body for a sausage roll or a jam sandwich, but like most students returning to the Mothership, I’ve been very well fed. I chose instead to go to a cafe in the town centre just in front of the Cathedral and pass an hour watching the world of Peterborough go by.

When I was young the city-centre stores were closed on Sundays and these streets were abandoned in favour of roast dinners and beer gardens. It’s not like that anymore. People are all so busy all of the time. Under a cool sun I watched the occupants of this city – the young mums, the men in suits (business or track), the gooey couples and the victims of badly applied tans, the mums and dads and community support officers and all breeds of teenager; the emo, the gangster, the celebrity, the geek, pass me by, pass each other by and blindly go about their days.

As I sat and watched and reflected on all the nutty things I’ve spent the last two weeks doing for the Coincidence Project, I thought about how every city could benefit from doing one and how much I’m actually going to miss it.

id decided that for todays task id take the dog ( otis ) to sefton park. we d have a good walk for an hour then find quiet corner to sit and relax, maybe by the waterfall.
Big Mistake : id forgotten it was the race for life. so theres thousands of pink frilly bodies fluttering by us with such exitment at being involved with a good cause and doing their bit for charity. it was amazing to see. i found watching them all quite hypnotic. otis on the other hand hated every minute of it. he lost the freedom he usually gets in the park. he didnt want to watch the world to go by, he wanted the gate crashers of his park to flutter away.

Here I am, with a very expensive coffee, outside Starbuck’s, L’pool 1, watching the world go by. and what a world it is! Like a kaleidoscope, shifting and changing all the time! All shapes, sizes, accents… Where do they all come from? And the fashion…! There’s a giant bronze statue of John Lennon close by. Now and again someone stops, wrap themselves round one of his legs, and poses for friend with camera. A giant panda and a lion with a big head have walked past (no kidding!) and a girl who appeared to have escaped from a hen party. `the wind’s turned chilly but I’ll sit here a bit longer. I’m so glad it’s not a homogenous world!